***OFFICIAL MINNESOTA AT MARYLAND IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

If Nebraska comes through and beats the Badgers Gophers could end up in last place.
That's a big if. The Gophs won't finish last, but they will finish as the league's worst team when you look at how all the teams are playing at the end. After their relatively strong start, this is a bitter pill to swallow.
 

Not playing a freshman because of a few bad possessions when you’re getting scored on over and over is petulant. He plays other guys who aren’t ready and won’t be here next year. It’s illogical.
Did you see the defensive possessions while he was in? He offered no resistance and couldn't grab a rebound. Sutherlin and even Daniels at least were holding their defensive spot and would fight for rebounds.
 

Did you see the defensive possessions while he was in? He offered no resistance and couldn't grab a rebound. Sutherlin and even Daniels at least were holding their defensive spot and would fight for rebounds.
Maryland shot over 50%, almost all on 2s at the rim. I saw Thompson block and alter a shot.

Daniels and Ogele combined for 1 rebound and 1 block in significantly more minutes than Thompson had. I don’t think Thompson is very good but when you’re giving up buckets at the rim all the time, maybe try him. That’s all I’m saying. I don’t want to see him for 15 minutes.
 

That's a big if. The Gophs won't finish last, but they will finish as the league's worst team when you look at how all the teams are playing at the end. After their relatively strong start, this is a bitter pill to swallow.
Regardless of what Nebraska does the gophers finish at the leagues worst team IMO. They lost to Nebraska.
 



Maryland shot over 50%, almost all on 2s at the rim. I saw Thompson block and alter a shot.

Daniels and Ogele combined for 1 rebound and 1 block in significantly more minutes than Thompson had. I don’t think Thompson is very good but when you’re giving up buckets at the rim all the time, maybe try him. That’s all I’m saying. I don’t want to see him for 15 minutes.
Ogele played the same amount of minutes as Thompson and got benched for awful defense just like TT.
 






Maryland shot over 50%, almost all on 2s at the rim. I saw Thompson block and alter a shot.

Daniels and Ogele combined for 1 rebound and 1 block in significantly more minutes than Thompson had. I don’t think Thompson is very good but when you’re giving up buckets at the rim all the time, maybe try him. That’s all I’m saying. I don’t want to see him for 15 minutes.
Daniels didn't play much in the second half as he wasn't an answer to defending their interior. He did have a block to go along with his rebound.
Ogele played the same number of minutes as TT. He had two terrific drives to the basket while in and two terrifying attempts at trying to make those layups. :eek: Then never played again.
TT had the one block where the Maryland player drove into his area and TT blocked the attempt. He was slow to react to a rebound on two possession in a row and was taken out.
Sutherlin lacks height to stop the interior moves, but at least he was fighting for position, offering some resistance and rebounding.
I'd like to see TT play some more but he didn't have it last night.
He's averaged 8 minutes in 18 games so far this year, which is about right for him. He's got some work to do, but I think he can be a contributor next season.
 

I'm getting tired of being "competitive" and losing all the time. I know all our limitations and the season is actually about what I expected with our lack of size and depth, but all the losing gets tiresome. Gosh, it would be nice to be consistently good. I don't even need great.
 

Daniels didn't play much in the second half as he wasn't an answer to defending their interior. He did have a block to go along with his rebound.
Ogele played the same number of minutes as TT. He had two terrific drives to the basket while in and two terrifying attempts at trying to make those layups. :eek: Then never played again.
TT had the one block where the Maryland player drove into his area and TT blocked the attempt. He was slow to react to a rebound on two possession in a row and was taken out.
Sutherlin lacks height to stop the interior moves, but at least he was fighting for position, offering some resistance and rebounding.
I'd like to see TT play some more but he didn't have it last night.
He's averaged 8 minutes in 18 games so far this year, which is about right for him. He's got some work to do, but I think he can be a contributor next season.
I just don't understand the logic with giving him 3 min last night. Right now hes not strong enough and is more of a perimeter guy, I understand that. But what was the worst that could happen last night? They scored at will in the post, we had nothing. They literally could not have done more on offense, so maybe try to take advantage of that on the other end, put Wahab in some PnR and maybe TT gets an open 3 or two. Sutherlin played fine but he was perfect for MD, hey he cant shoot so our big guy can just sit in the post until he comes in.

Expierence can only help and at this point I have heard plenty of people say "winning doesnt matter this year" so why play Ogele any minutes, why play sutherlin a ton. I'm not saying this is the case here, but there are times guys dont play the younger guy because they know he isnt good so the perception he will be good long term still helps calm the group. Think the NBA, its better to have 10,000 draft picks than being .500, at .500 you know your limit its not huge, with the picks you can sell a future of superstars!
 

I'm getting tired of being "competitive" and losing all the time. I know all our limitations and the season is actually about what I expected with our lack of size and depth, but all the losing gets tiresome. Gosh, it would be nice to be consistently good. I don't even need great.
Patience you must have my young Padawan.

I hear you. Yeah, win some freakin' games. Ready to see what comes in the portal.
 



I just don't understand the logic with giving him 3 min last night. Right now hes not strong enough and is more of a perimeter guy, I understand that. But what was the worst that could happen last night? They scored at will in the post, we had nothing. They literally could not have done more on offense, so maybe try to take advantage of that on the other end, put Wahab in some PnR and maybe TT gets an open 3 or two. Sutherlin played fine but he was perfect for MD, hey he cant shoot so our big guy can just sit in the post until he comes in.

Expierence can only help and at this point I have heard plenty of people say "winning doesnt matter this year" so why play Ogele any minutes, why play sutherlin a ton. I'm not saying this is the case here, but there are times guys dont play the younger guy because they know he isnt good so the perception he will be good long term still helps calm the group. Think the NBA, its better to have 10,000 draft picks than being .500, at .500 you know your limit its not huge, with the picks you can sell a future of superstars!
This winning doesn't matter narrative keeps getting twisted.

Johnson and the players are competitors and they are going out there every night doing their absolute best to win the game. Johnson is coaching to win the game and he is playing the guys he thinks give the team the best shot to do that. He could have made the decision to just totally scrap the season and play the young guys but he didn't.

In the end, the record for this year is not important, which is why I and others have been saying that winning doesn't matter. But that doesn't mean the team isn't going out there each night and trying to win. It just means that in the grand scheme of things the W/L record here in year 1 shouldn't be used to evaluate Johnson's ability as a coach or be seen as any sort of indicator of what is going to happen over the next few years.

This is a whole new roster, that lost key pieces before the season, and has been dealing with injuries and other issues down the stretch. The guys are going out there and giving it all they have each night, but just don't have the horses to get it done most nights unfortunately.
 

This winning doesn't matter narrative keeps getting twisted.

Johnson and the players are competitors and they are going out there every night doing their absolute best to win the game. Johnson is coaching to win the game and he is playing the guys he thinks give the team the best shot to do that. He could have made the decision to just totally scrap the season and play the young guys but he didn't.

In the end, the record for this year is not important, which is why I and others have been saying that winning doesn't matter. But that doesn't mean the team isn't going out there each night and trying to win. It just means that in the grand scheme of things the W/L record here in year 1 shouldn't be used to evaluate Johnson's ability as a coach or be seen as any sort of indicator of what is going to happen over the next few years.

This is a whole new roster, that lost key pieces before the season, and has been dealing with injuries and other issues down the stretch. The guys are going out there and giving it all they have each night, but just don't have the horses to get it done most nights unfortunately.
Not arguing with you, but he doesn't have any young guys to speak of this year. That's next year when we all bitch about the young guys getting minutes and not playing a veteran we got that we feel would give us a better shot at winning. Just wait.
 


Not arguing with you, but he doesn't have any young guys to speak of this year. That's next year when we all bitch about the young guys getting minutes and not playing a veteran we got that we feel would give us a better shot at winning. Just wait.
You are not suggesting that fans can be irrational are you?
 

I don't think the wins/losses matter this year in the long run. I do think there needs to be a lot more wins in the next couple years though. Johnson has this roster because of what he did/didnt do. Losing Fox hurts defensively but he isn't going to be a big offensive boost. Great dunker though.
Ihnen would be better than the alternatives but he shot 22% on 3s last year in 14 minutes per game for a bottom 2 team in the conference. We aren't missing Oturu, its Isaiah freaking Ihnen.

I am optimistic the team is better next year. Battle, the incoming freshman, Fox and Ihnen is likely a better roster than we have now. The portal will be huge for him. Needs to get higher end players than he did in the last go around.
 

Not arguing with you, but he doesn't have any young guys to speak of this year. That's next year when we all bitch about the young guys getting minutes and not playing a veteran we got that we feel would give us a better shot at winning. Just wait.
What veterans will be on the team next year that aren't expected to play a ton?
 

Let me put it this way. Clem's first two years were a lot of losing. It's not a perfect comparison because the roster composition was completely different than now, but it does demonstrate that Rome is rarely built in a day unless you're Bo Ryan and you're gifted the players he inherited. BUT, by year 3 of Haskins, we were in the Sweet Sixteen, on the way to the threshold of the Final Four the following year. As other learned people on this board have said, by year 3 or 4, you know what you have. If it hasn't started to bloom by then, the plant's health should be in serious question.
 

What veterans will be on the team next year that aren't expected to play a ton?
My assumption is a few portal transfers. Purely speculation. Was kind of tongue in cheek. We are going to argue almost all the time on here anyways is kind of what I was getting at.
 

I don't think the wins/losses matter this year in the long run. I do think there needs to be a lot more wins in the next couple years though. Johnson has this roster because of what he did/didnt do. Losing Fox hurts defensively but he isn't going to be a big offensive boost. Great dunker though.
Ihnen would be better than the alternatives but he shot 22% on 3s last year in 14 minutes per game for a bottom 2 team in the conference. We aren't missing Oturu, its Isaiah freaking Ihnen.

I am optimistic the team is better next year. Battle, the incoming freshman, Fox and Ihnen is likely a better roster than we have now. The portal will be huge for him. Needs to get higher end players than he did in the last go around.
It's pretty delusional to say Parker will provide no offense when he averaged 23 and 10 at the D2 level. Creighton has a D2 transfer who Parker dominated who averaged similar stats and he's averaging 15 on an NCAA tournament team.
 

Let me put it this way. Clem's first two years were a lot of losing. It's not a perfect comparison because the roster composition was completely different than now, but it does demonstrate that Rome is rarely built in a day unless you're Bo Ryan and you're gifted the players he inherited. BUT, by year 3 of Haskins, we were in the Sweet Sixteen, on the way to the threshold of the Final Four the following year. As other learned people on this board have said, by year 3 or 4, you know what you have. If it hasn't started to bloom by then, the plant's health should be in serious question.
100% agree. If in year 3-4 we still aren't seeing a decent level of success it becomes time to start worrying some.

Transition years are almost always tough, and when you factor in having to rebuild an entire roster, this one was even tougher than most. The overall play of the team has been encouraging, even if the results haven't been what we would all like to see in a perfect world.

Have enjoyed this season and watching this team way more than I thought I was going to heading into the season with what was left on the roster.
 

It's pretty delusional to say Parker will provide no offense when he averaged 23 and 10 at the D2 level. Creighton has a D2 transfer who Parker dominated who averaged similar stats and he's averaging 15 on an NCAA tournament team.
He was also a defensive player of the year, so good chance a guy like Fox would have had a massive impact on a game like last night.
 

They are seniors. Maybe they work harder in practice, listen better. Maybe the coach wouldn't mind a couple more spots to fill. There is only a million more possible reasons.
Maybe. But it feels like I'm hearing "Ben is justified in not playing him" and "he's not transferring, he has a bright future here." I don't think both of these can be true.

In games, which is all we have to go off of, he's better than CD or Ogele. He was good enough to play 40 minutes against Rutgers and score 10 points. But now he's not good enough to play more than 3 minutes against Maryland, even with Curry out. Sorry there's no logic there.
 

Treyton Thompson has become the Zack Annexstad of Gopher basketball. Half our fan base thinking they know more than the coaches who are watching and working with these guys every day and have spent their lives dedicated to the game.

Honestly it happens sometimes. Coaches get stubborn.
 



Regardless of what Nebraska does the gophers finish at the leagues worst team IMO. They lost to Nebraska.

So Colorado is better than Arizona because they beat them?

Pretty sure the body of the work of the entire season is how they figure these things out.
 
Last edited:

Sutherlin picked up the Curry slack and was easily the best option to do so (undersized or not). TT's toughness isn't in the same universe as Sutherlin's.

TT's development doesn't hinge on playing more minutes in a lost season bombing 3s. It hinges on gaining 35 pounds, watching film, and learning to play/defend under the basket.
 




Top Bottom